George Soule, of the Labor Bureau, Inc., has attempted to answer these questions. After suggesting some answers, he has asked for comments from others working in the same field. These comments are, in large part, embodied in the text of the pamphlet, in footnotes and in the appendix. The pamphlet thus becomes, in a real sense, a cooperative venture.
The pamphlet does not attempt to persuade students of the importance of the labor movement in the life of today and tomorrow. It assumes that importance. It does not attempt to cover the whole field of intellectual activity surrounding the movement. It is confined largely to the opportunities of the technician, in the broader sense of that term, in the present day trade union movement.
The League counts itself as particularly fortunate in securing this contribution from Mr. George Soule and his colleagues. A graduate of Yale University, 1908, Mr. Soule has been a thorough student of the labor movement for many years past. Since 1918, he has served on the staffs of the New Republic, the Nation and the New York Post as a special writer on labor problems, is the author of a report on the industrial service section of the Department of the Secretary of War, and more lately has devoted his entire time to the Labor Bureau, Inc., as one of its directors. He is co-author with J. M. Budish of "The New Unionism in the Clothing Industry," a director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a writer for various scientific journals.
The pamphlet is the third of a series on social problems published by the League. It will not have been published in vain if it helps any young idealist to find his niche in the labor movement and to assist in the onward march of this movement toward a nobler civilization.
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